Developer Diary Review

As an experienced developer, I already use too many productivity/development tools and I was reluctant to try another tool. I was happy with taking notes in my good old paper diary. But the simplicity of Developer Diary attracted me.

Feature-wise, it did what it promised without any distraction or clutter. I could take notes, reflect back and make better decisions with insights such as maker vs manager mode, deep work intervals, etc. The quick global shortcut (Cmd+Shift+I) to bring the focus on diary is so underrated, it wouldn't have used it so consistently without it. It solved the common problem I had with other productivity tools - I start to use them with great motivation but leave them in between because they feel like a chore after a while. But the shortcut and autostart feature made sure that not only I dump my thoughts in the diary but also reflect back on them regularly without any annoying notifications. That's what made me stick around for the first two week and then it became an effortless habit.

The overall impact of using the Developer Diary is enlightening. I am less anxiety now, I have more clarity in my thoughts, and I get more time for deep work. Being able to follow my coding plans more consistently with less distractions helped me solve hard coding problems.